(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and in particular, to a liquid crystal display device having a backlight directly behind the display.
(2) Related Art Statement
As liquid crystal display panels tend to become larger, liquid crystal display devices having a backlight directly behind the display where the surface light source for the backlight can be made uniform are used.
In such backlights, a number of fluorescent tubes are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction within a plane of the lower frame (base) having a light reflecting function which faces the liquid crystal display panel. Each of these fluorescent tubes is sandwiched by electrode metal fixtures in electrode portions at the two ends, and the electrode metal fixtures are placed at the two ends of the above described base.
Thus, a number of electrode metal fixtures are formed on electrode supporting members in band form made of a conductive material which extend in the direction in which the above described fluorescent tubes are aligned. That is to say, the electrode supporting members have a function of sandwiching and holding a number of fluorescent tubes.
Therefore, the numbers of fluorescent tubes within the backlight area are connected in parallel by the electrode supporting members and the electrode metal fixtures at the two ends of the base.
In addition, a power supply controlling circuit substrate with an inverter for turning on and controlling the fluorescent tubes is mounted on the rear surface of the above described base in such a manner that one power supplying terminal of the power supply controlling circuit substrate is connected to the electrode supporting member on one end side via a wire (cable) and the other power supplying terminal is connected to the electrode supporting member on the other end side via a wire (cable), and as a result, power is supplied to the respective external electrode fluorescent tubes described above.
A liquid crystal display device having a backlight using external electrode fluorescent tubes as those described above is disclosed in the following Patent Document 1, for example.
(Patent Document 1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2005-347259 (Corresponding U.S. Application US2005/0265047 A1)